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Verbet walked into the detention center of the Citadel three days later. Long ago he had learned that simply acting like you belonged somewhere was often all it took to avoid confrontations. The guards here were not so easily pacified, however. They immediately snapped to attention and reached for their weapons.
“This is a restricted area,” one of them said sharply, his hand hovered over his sidearm.
“Zevon told me to meet him down here.” Verbet looked around curiously. There were four identical holding cells and the security station across from the door. That’s where the two guards stood. Laidon was the only prisoner. He watched closely, but wisely held his tongue. Compact, well-organized. Nowhere to hide if weapons started firing. He needed to act quickly and decisively. “Apparently, I’m the first to arrive.”
“Who are you?” the talkative guard demanded.
“Well, that’s insulting,” Verbet grumbled as he ambled closer. “I thought my reputation had spread throughout the star system and beyond.” Before anyone could respond to his boast, he pulled his pulse pistol out of the back of his pants and shot both guards in quick succession. The talkative one was clearly dead, but the other one twisted just enough to avoid the kill shot. Verbet kicked his weapon out of reach then blasted him full in the face. The energy pulse obliterated his features then drilled through his skull. The back of his head blew off and splattered the wall behind him.
“That put the hell in hello,” Laidon said as he looked from one bloodied body to the other. As Verbet walked across the room, Laidon moved back from the energy field that served as the front wall of the cells. “Am I next? Unlike those fools, I know damn well who you are.”
Verbet continued to the security station and activated systems until he found the control that released the energy field. “My half-brother did not send me. If that is what you fear. I have a proposition for you, but we need to get out of here before I explain.”
Laidon still looked wary, but he stepped out of the holding cell.
Verbet led him out of the detention center and down the corridor. The detention center was shielded. No one could be teleported into or out of the area. They just needed to get far enough away from the shields so Verbet could teleport them onto his shuttle.
They turned one corner and then another, walking as fast as they could without drawing too much attention.
“Halt!” someone shouted.
“Damn it,” Laidon muttered.
Verbet took off running, not bothering to look back and see if Laidon followed. He’d been held here for weeks now. There was no reason he would want to stay.
Laidon suddenly grabbed Verbet’s arm and tugged him into a utility access corridor. Laidon seemed to know where he was going and Verbet had been running blind, so Verbet followed gladly. They ducked into a passageway and climbed down a level.
“Can you stream us out now?” Laidon asked urgently.
Verbet tried to connect with his ship but shook his head. “Comms are still blocked.”
They climbed down another level then moved closer to the hull. At least, Verbet hoped that was where Laidon was leading him. The corridor ended at what looked like a perimeter wall.
Verbet checked his control band and sighed. “It connected. Move closer to me.” As soon as Laidon did, Verbet activated the molecular teleportation unit on his ship.
Fighters had been launched and were actively searching, but Verbet’s recon shuttle had the best shields credits could buy.
Laidon looked around in confusion. “You attempted a rescue mission alone? That was either bold or stupid.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Verbet rushed to the front of the ship and sat down. “Most would call that bold.”
Laidon sat down beside him.
Quickly bringing the ship out of standby, Verbet maneuvered away from the Citadel and triggered a hyperspace portal. In the blink of an eye, they left their pursuers far behind.
“If Jevara didn’t send you,” Laidon asked once they were both confident that they had escaped, “who did?”
“Recent events have convinced me that it’s time for me to break ties with my half-brother. I am interested in joining, or at least assisting, your cause.”
Laidon arched his brows. “You want to help us overthrow the emperor?”
“I’m interested in change—significant, permanent change. I’m not yet sure of the form that change should take.”
Pausing to study Verbet for a moment, Laidon asked, “What happened? Why break ties with Jevara?”
“He sent me after the conduits and when an ambush very nearly took my life, Jevara made it obvious that the only thing he was upset about was that the mission failed and he wouldn’t have control of a conduit.”
Laidon shook his head, genuine disgust clear in his eyes. “I’m sorry, but not surprised. Jevara is the most self-absorbed person I’ve ever met.”
